Is November’s Republican landslide across Congressional and gubernatorial races the emphatic mandate the GOP had been craving since Newt Gingrich’s revolution more than 20 years ago? Or is it a mood swing reminiscent of 2006, when Democrats seemed to win every close race and claimed both Houses during Bush’s fınal two years?
With pundits suggesting Congressional Democrats and Republicans remain pathetically unpopular, an examination of ballot-box initiatives reflects a less partisan storyline. No longer are we talking a red state or blue state. The latest is the “me state.”
Most Americans voted for what they thought was best for themselves. They’re ticked o‑ about an economy that statistically may be improving but is keeping too many pocket-poor. They want to chill with a bit of weed without government interference and they don’t want Big Government to infringe on their bodies or their guns. Consider:
Spare a Dime?
Quick: Name the liberal among these states: Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. None! (OK, Dakota did elect Daschle years ago, but that was so 20th century.) All are reliably Republican states. And all four easily passed hourly minimum-wage increases that top the federal floor of $7.25. Arkansas’ will jump to $8.50 by 2017, and Alaska’s stretches to $9.75 in 2016.
Weed Won
Remember how stoked some of us were when Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize marijuana for recreational use? Two more unconventional states, Alaska and Oregon, are “jointing” them. And our D.C., a place known for a crime or two, instantly cut its criminal books by repealing civil and criminal penalties for possession. Also, an amendment in Florida to legalize medical marijuana “lost” because it received only 57% of the vote when it needed 60%.
Hold Your Fire?
Washingtonians (no, not the D.C. variety) overwhelmingly backed Initiative 594, which will require criminal and mental-health checks on gun buyers, while rejecting Initiative 591, which would have blocked such checks. But a look at the success of NRA-backed candidates—including Thom Thillis over incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, and Senate candidates in Arkansas, Georgia, West Virginia and Utah—has the NRA firing victory shots.
The Month in Numbers
Keystone XL
The proposed pipeline would stretch 1,179 miles from Hardisty in Alberta, British Columbia, to the Gulf of Mexico, transporting what amounts to 175 billion barrels of Alberta’s tar sands oil. It is the second largest oil reserve behind Saudi Arabia. The proposed pipeline was voted down by a slim 59-41 Senate vote Nov. 18.
Minimum Wage and the Machine
Chicago’s hourly minimum wage will increase gradually year to year from 2014’s $8.25 to a $13 high in 2019.
Kicking the Can
In a move that simply pushes the issue further down the road, Congress voted in early December to extend popular tax breaks amounting to $45 billion to businesses and individuals until Dec. 31, giving the newly elected the chance to argue over it once again in the new year.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.